


At A Glance

by metal_lamp



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-30
Updated: 2013-06-08
Packaged: 2017-11-15 09:25:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/525764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/metal_lamp/pseuds/metal_lamp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is from my FF.net story, so here's the link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8297418/1/At-A-Glance</p>
<p>Since I only have four chapters so far, I won't upload them all at once.<br/>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Loki loves his kids

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Mother of Monsters](https://archiveofourown.org/works/520715) by [metal_lamp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/metal_lamp/pseuds/metal_lamp). 



> This is from my FF.net story, so here's the link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8297418/1/At-A-Glance
> 
> Since I only have four chapters so far, I won't upload them all at once.  
> Enjoy!

He knew what Thanos wanted from the beginning, ever since he gave him knowledge. But while Loki was eager to take over Midgard and hand over the Tesseract, there was something that worried him.

He was actually quite fond of Midgard and he has spent much time in it, savoring the short lives and the people there. Well, perhaps he enjoyed the people too much. But let it be said that Loki is not a cruel father. Distant, perhaps, and much more to his half-god offspring, but it was that way. Even to his immortal children, whom he tried to spend as much time with, did not see them often. He had duties to perform and Odin would not let him near Hel or his other two, who have been banished. He only had Sleipnir, but Odin was his master.

Midgard, the place the mortals call Earth. Yes, he knew this place quite well. But he wasn't here to take over. Not yet. That plan would not be implemented for another year, until his strength and magic was at his maximum. Thanos also was being quite stubborn about the Chitauri army, so Loki asked permission to scout Midgard and seek out the threats that would be eliminated within a year.

Or so Thanos thought.

But he wasn't here for that. He was here to make sure his offspring, the mortals with his blood, were safe. It has been around twelve years since he visited and possibly blessed a mortal with a child. He most likely sired one, but mothering one and not remembering was actually quite common, sadly.

(He wasn't so sure, he was quite fond of those locations the mortals called 'clubs'. So he might or might have not had or sired a child…)

Nevertheless, Loki did not want to cause panic among his children. Plenty of them over the centuries did not exhibit any form of his powers, whether it'd be magic, or his…Jotunn powers. Generally his children would be mischievous or at least have a sense of humor. Some were intelligent and others were clever. His children were truly unique.

"Alright, farewell." He waved to one of his grandchildren, who looked quite dazed. This one, like his father, (and grandfather, obviously) was in the entertainment business as a PR agent. Clever with words and knew who to manipulate people, his family roots were obvious. Loki, dressed in his new attire of leather and a green cape, placed his helmet on the ground. He walked around the perimeter of the house and then drew a dagger. He drew it over his skin and dipped his fingers in his blood and began tracing symbols of protection and luck around the house, while murmuring spells. After he finished the entire house, he stood, clapped his hands three times and watched as the blood seeped into the pale walls. He smirked, grabbed his helmet, and teleported.

He appeared in St. Louis in a simple black suit, and glanced around suspiciously. He felt something, something off and it reminded him heavily of the Asgardians Gods. They couldn't be here, not yet. His eyes spotted the large monument and narrowed. There was some sort of magical activity going out there. "Well, who could it be? Has Heimdall spotted me? Or perhaps…" Loki trailed off before deciding on approaching the area. No one knew that he was alive, so either he'd take them be surprise and kill them. Or perhaps there was a sorcerer fighting for his life. Loki decided then it would not hurt to see what was going on. He had the advantage here.


	2. Percy and his new dad

So maybe this mission wasn’t going so great. Of course, Percy Jackson expected this.

Seriously, he was going to have a talk with the Olympian Gods. Sure, he was a demigod, but heck, he was twelve. He wasn’t cut out for dealing with a fire-breathing Chihuahua. Or Chimera. Whatever, he was about to be toast.

While the normal people screamed and did nothing to try and escape, Percy held Riptide firmly in his hands, but on the inside, he was panicking. Ananbeth and Grover were probably wondering what was taking him so long, or they probably figured it out already.  The Echidna grinned wickedly and hissed something at her son.

Percy leapt and tried to slash at the Chimera’s neck. But this was a terrible idea because the celestial bronze sword smacked the monster’s jeweled collar and bounced off, leaving the demigod off-balanced. He tried to regain it before the Chimera took a bit out of him or something. But he didn’t expect the serpent tail to sneak up and wrap around his leg. It bit into his calf and man, it _hurt_.  Without thinking, he stabbed the monster in the mouth. But the tail decided to yank at him. Percy, in a panic, hurriedly reached over to try and grab his sword and grabbed the point. It slid slowly out of his grasp, cutting deeply into his flesh but he managed to get a bloody grip on it.

The demigod shakily got to his feet and held Riptide with his good hand. The Chimera hissed at him while his ugly-butt mom laughed at his pain.

“They don’t make heroes like they used to, eh, son?” Percy swallowed, and winced. So the serpent tail poisoned him, and well, he could feel it. It was hot, spreading through him. He needed water, o something to heal him. The boy glanced at the water near the Arch, wondering if it’d help. But would his dad help him? Somehow, the Echidna noticed this.

“If you are the son of Poseidon, you would not fear water. Jump, Percy Jackson. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline.”

“Uh, I’m pretty sure I’ll splat or something.” He said, then realized he didn’t want to say if out loud. The Echidna grinned nastily at that.

"You have no faith," The Mother of Monsters sneered, walking around her son and petting his fur. "You do not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. Better you die now. The gods are faithless. The poison is in your heart.” Percy’s eyes widen and clawed at his shirt. He glanced again at the water. Would it really help him? He looked back at the Echidna, who opened her mouth, probably to tell her Chihuahua son to eat him. He was running out of time.

Out of nowhere, a light shot at the space between Percy and the Echidna. When it touched the floor, a huge explosion went off. If his fight with the Chimera didn’t scare the mortals to death, this would. Percy was pretty sure he saw the ranger faint.

Out of the light came a tall, human-like being. Not knowing if he was going to die (well, he was poisoned, but he didn’t want to anger this being and get more hurt) he backs away, closer to the edge and glanced at the water. If anything, that would probably take him out of his misery.

“Who dares disturb the Echidna?! I, the Mother of Monsters?!” She spat, nimbly moving around her son to face what was now golden horns a lots of leather.

“You call yourself the Mother of Monsters? Your children must be terrifying to an infant.” The being held a gold spear, which it used to waved and point at her. She smirked at him, taking in its appearance and probably determining that he wasn’t so scary.

The Echidna hissed at him, but Percy stopped paying attention to the taller figure. His eyesight started to blur and he let out a gasp. Unluckily, this brought the attention of the other two to him.

Percy finally got a look at the guy, maybe a monster with the shape of a human. He had this really weird golden helmet with two horns sticking out from the top. The guy was tall and pale, and he might have dark hair—the helmet covered most of his head and the part sticking out from the back was invisible to Percy.

The man looked at the boy gasping for air and then recoiled.

“Who is this?” He hissed at the Echidna, who snarled at him, edging her son forward.

“How _dare_ you take that tone with me? Who are—” A blue beam slammed into the Chimera. It was thrown back and remained in the air before disintegrating. The Echidna managed to let out an anguish screech before she was turned to dust.

.

But Loki didn’t care about that. He turned to the boy, who was now kneeling and clawing at his shirt. When he glanced at the boy, he was reminded a bit of staring at a mirror in his childhood. He went to the boy and forced his chin up. His skin was pale, perhaps because of whatever was injuring him. Disregarding that, Loki spoke to the boy, his thumbs pressing against the cheek and a lock of dark hair.

“Open your eyes boy.”

“Wha…” Percy choked out and cracked open an eye. That was all Loki needed.

“What is ailing you? Quickly!” The man threw off his helmet and kneeled in front of Percy. His hands hovered over the demigod’s chest and glowed blue.

“Puh-poison…calf.” “Poison, coming from the leg.” Both said at the same time.

“This might sting. Calm your breathing, child.” Loki clenched Percy’s calf and pushed his fingers into the wound.

“That—IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT!” Percy screamed and bit his tongue. Loki cursed and let go of the calf and used that hand to force open the mouth.

“You’re a bit daft.” Percy glared but all he did was dribble blood onto the guy’s hand. He waved his hand and the pain left the calf and his chest. Another wave and Percy’s tongue was healed.

“Thanks, um…”

“I am Loki, God of Mischief and Lies.” Percy, who had grabbed his sword from off the ground, dropped it.

“Um…” Loki rolled his eyes but patted the boy affectionately.

“We don’t have time. Come along, my son.” Percy dropped his sword again.

“What?!” Loki ignored this but gave the boy a bright smile. He effortlessly picked up the boy and cradled him to his chest. Now, Loki was a tall god. As in, over six feet. And Percy felt like a baby.

“Wait!” _‘This is too soon, I barely know you, dude.’_ Percy though. He made some childish sound and waved his hand at riptide, which the god Loki happened to be standing on. Loki glanced down and let out a hearty chuckle.

“Ah, of course. Every boy wants his weapon.” He kneeled and gave Percy the chance to pick up his sword. Before Percy could say, think, and do anything else, they were outside, floating above the Arch that was still burning, although the firefighters were doing a good job of fixing that.

“Now, I have teleported us to a much safer location. Now, tell me your name my son and what you desire to do.” Well, this guy was interesting, he called him his son without asking for his name, looked kind of scary but _seemed_ nice.

“Well, I’m Percy Jackson…”

 


	3. Meet Loki, my dad/mom. And Jörmungandr, my serpent-bro.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy finds out why Loki could be his dad...or mom.
> 
> Oh, and Jörmungandr too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Parts that you recognize are not mine. They're Riordan's or the people who own the Avengers.

Three old women, known as the Fates, say nothing as they see what goes on. In unity, they all look to the heavens, but the skies are clear. Soon, the Greek Gods will find out and there will be a mad scramble to find out what happened.

\---

In a location miles above the Earth’s surface, a computer detects a large amount of energy. But just as quickly it appear, it vanishes from the screen. No one sees it happen or hears the sound the computer makes. But someone will eventually check the computer log.

\---

 

“Could you put me down?” Percy looked at the God of Mischief’s eyes, which were an odd combination of blue and green, swirling and changing under the light.

“You would fall if I put you down.” Loki was rather confused. Were children this age rather suicidal? He voiced this to Percy, who became paler than his own skin shade.

“Um, I didn’t mean that! I meant, can you put _us_ down, as in, on the ground? The normal people might freak out.” Percy motioned to the firefighters that were arriving and the swarms of people surrounding the national symbol.

“Ah yes, the mortals…” Loki teleported them to an alley, not far from area. He set Percy down and looked at him with a critical eye.

“Does your chest hurt? Your wound? What about your hand—let me see your hand—” Percy was suddenly reminded of his mom.

“I’m fine, really. But I have to get back to my friends. They were with me…and we got separated.”

Loki pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow, in an ‘ _Oh no young man, not in those clothes_ ’ look.

“No, my child…not dressed like _that_. You are my offspring and I am your princely, _godly_ parent. And you will not look like your barely escaped a firestorm caused by fire giants!” He snapped his fingers and not only did Percy feel like he took a dive in a cool, refreshing pool, but his body didn’t ache anymore. His hair left light and clean. Loki snapped his fingers again and his armor and helmet dissolved, leaving him in a black suit and dress pants, with a white-button up and a green tie.

“Now, what else…?” Loki murmured, his eyes becoming distant.

“Um…Lord Loki—”

“Call me father…no wait; I might be your mother.” Percy paled when he heard that.

“You’re a dude.” Percy said slowly, forgetting that Loki was a god. His eyes widen and he stared fearfully at the dark-haired god.

“I can shape shift and therefore I can conceive a child.” Loki said lightly, not caring about the boy’s tone. He was very confused after all.

“Well, even if you’re my dad—”

“—or mother—”

“ _Father_ —!” Percy stressed heavily, pouting at Loki’s amused smirked and that bright glint in his eye. He continued, however, with what he though was bad news for the God of Mischief.

“Anyways, since you know I’m a demigod, and I go to a camp for demigods, and, well, I’m on a quest.”

“A quest?” Loki said, perking up. Percy nodded and without thinking about it, patted Riptide through his jeans.

“Yeah, that’s why I have to get back to my friends. And I guess I have to say good-bye to you." Loki’s expression changed to mild annoyance but his answer was surprising.

“Don’t say such foolish things. I assume you are on a quest given to you by…?”

“Er…the Oracle of Delphi. Part of what I thought was Greek myth.” Percy looks to see if the god was confused, because then he won’t be able to help him there. How would you explain to someone that the oracle was a mummy?

“Ah.” Loki nodded at Percy, knowing exactly what he was talking about. He motioned for Percy to step forward and show him the way, but a hand tugged at his cuff.

“Yes, is something wrong?” The boy was looking at the god, but not meeting his eyes.

“Look, you know I’m a demigod, and as much as I like the idea that my…that my dad is actually meeting me face-to-face, but how do you really know I’m your son? Can you prove it?”

Loki frowned, but it wasn’t in anger, he seemed rather upset. It was a little unnerving, as the question reminded him of days that were long gone. But he felt in his gut, his heart felt it and his mind would not deny this child was truly his.

“Percy,” Loki blinked at how odd the name sounded. It felt a little too personal, and although he wanted to get to know his son better, he liked formality and order. Rather ironic for the God of Mischief and Chaos.

“I am a sorcerer, and I…do hold ice powers. My other offspring had never inherited all of my powers; most generally have one or two, or no abilities other than a love for practical jokes, cunning, wit and tactics.” Loki watched Percy carefully and nodded at Percy.

“What powers do you hold, my child?”

Percy sighed and shrugged. “Well, I can control water, it’s stronger if I’m near a body of water. I’m definitely not witty; I’m not sure what that is.” He murmured the last part, ignoring the odd look Loki threw at him.

“Water…oh dear, you’re just like Jörmungandr.” He snatched the demigod’s hand excitedly, flinching at how warm his hand was.

“Why is you hand cold?” Percy whined as Loki hurried them out of the alley and through the crowd surrounding the torched monument. They pushed passed a medic who was speaking calmly to a lady. She was saying something about the Chimera, in which Percy instantly recognized her as the mother of the little boy who'd been on the observation deck. When she spotted Loki, who towered over many of the people, she shrieked and tried to point at him, but the god tugged them towards the beach, not paying any attention to the crowd.

It was good having Loki around, Percy thought as he watched the people around them part and stare at Percy. The people in the crowd, instead of being offended when the god of mischief pushed them aside without a care, immediately moved and let him through. It made their journey to the beach much faster.

“We’re not dressed for this.” Percy said when the concrete changed to sand. Loki smirked at him but kept pulling him until their shoes were almost in the sea.

“I will call him. No, wait.” The god looked at the sky suspiciously, muttering ‘Heimdall’. With shaky hands he slowly formed a dark green corded and plucked a large seashell from the ground in an afterthought and phased it through the cord.

“Wear this.” Percy took it and tied it around his neck, before asking:

“What is it?”

“It spelled necklace on it that hides you from the eyes of the _All-father_ and his _watchdog_. It will also tell me the general area of where you might be.” Percy nodded.

“All-father? Your dad?” Percy instantly regretted the question. Loki’s face twisted into an angry snarled but he clenched a hand and looked away. The demigod gulped and backtracked immediately.

“S-sorry, didn’t mean—” Loki grasped the back of Percy’s head and pushed him into his chest, holding the boy tightly. While it was heartwarming and made Percy feel loved, it was uncomfortable, since Percy’s face was squished against Loki’s stomach.

“Now, back to calling Jörmungandr.” Loki said, rather brightly as he shot his son a grin. He kneeled, ignoring the sand getting stuck to his dress pants and dipped his fingers in the water. They started to glow a soft blue.

“So, what does Jor…Jormurgunder look like?”

“You’ll see.” Was the cryptic answer he got. Loki then stood and not even a second after that did a giant serpant pop out of the water.

Giant was a bit of an understatement, Percy decided, as he gaped at the monster that was his half-brother. It did look ferocious and deadly, but so far, it did no attempt to open its mouth. It was preening under the attention Loki was giving it. Loki was much shorter than Jormur-thingy but the creature plopped his head down on the sand and stared at Percy.

“Holy crap.” Percy said and the serpent’s big green-blue eyes stared at him, looking him over.

“Won’t anyone see Jormagander?” Loki shook his hand, waving a hand in the air.

“Yes and no. They will _see_ him but when they look again or think about it, their minds will dismiss it.” At that moment, Percy heard a small voice.

“Mama! There’s a giant snake in the water!” Percy froze and slowly turned around. A mother and her young daughter were walking by. The mother looked up but immediately her eyes glazed over.

“That’s nice dear.” She said and dragged her excited daughter away.

“…Percy?” Percy turned around to see Jor-snake’s face in front of his/

“Uh…Hi?” Jörmungandr turned to look at his father and hissed something.

“He says you smell like water.” Loki said, his eyes glowing with pride. Percy looked at the serpent and let out a small smile. Surprising, it was returned without the creature opening his mouth.

“Oh Gods…Percy! Percy!” All three immediately turned around, Jörmungandr drawing his head back and exposing his teeth, while Loki placed a hand on Percy’s shoulder.

“Dad, it’s okay, those are my friends! Annabeth and Grover!” He said, ‘dad’ slipping out without him thinking but it greatly pleased Loki and Jörmungandr. Loki then decided that he needed to get this boy, this child that had more of him than any of his current descendants, to his home.

“What?” Annabeth and Grover yelped. Annabeth had a frown on her place and the god noticed her hand was inching towards her hip. The other, who Loki identified as a half-goat boy, was staring between the two dark-haired people nervously.

“Who are you?” Annabeth asked firmly, her eyes not leaving Loki’s. Loki bowed, and decided to use his ‘Silvertongue’ skills.

“I am Loki, God of Mischief, Lies, and occasional chaos. I only came to check upon my descendants when I came across Percy. He is no doubt my child, even Jörmungandr agrees.” Loki said smoothly, slowly drawing the tension and suspicion from Annabeth and Grover. Even Percy looked more relaxed and was beaming at Loki.

Grover looked confused, but Annabeth was in shock.

“Loki? God of Mischief? But…you’re a Norse God!”

“Indeed I am, and I do not know how Percy came upon a Greek city of demigods, but I can assure you he is mine, if looks alone aren’t enough.” Annabeth opened her mouth to retort but stopped and looked at both Percy and Loki. Percy probably wouldn’t be as tall as Loki, but both had dark hair and eyes that mixed between blue and green. Percy had a slight tan from being under the sun in Camp Half-blood, so he didn’t share Loki’s pale skin, although Annabeth doubted Loki would want a tan. For some reason, Loki gave off the impression that although he was powerful, no one really noticed. Something most demigods experienced, perhaps Percy more.

“But Lord Poseidon claimed him.” Grover said, looking at Loki nervously. The god just lifted an eyebrow.

“Perhaps he confused Percy for another, or though Percy was his.” Annabeth looked at Percy carefully, before asking:

“So you are Percy’s dad then.” Surprising, Loki shook his head, but Percy’s eyes widen, something that didn’t go unnoticed by his companions.

“I’m not sure; I could be his mo—”

“NO, we are not talking about that!” He yelled and grabbed the cuff of Loki’s suit.

“Um, yeah dad, we need to go on a quest, so I guess if I can get your blessing, I’ll be okay? I can try to find you afterwards.”

“No.” Loki lifted a hand, stopping the sounds of protest. He turned to pat Jörmungandr and said good-bye to his serpent child. The serpent leaned over and nudged Percy gently before disappearing into the ocean.

“But—” Percy was cut off by a firm look from Loki.

“I need to put protection spells on your residence, just in case.” Loki added a bit hastily, but none of the trio noticed.

“It is for precaution. However, I can tell that this quest is of importance.”

Annabeth nodded furiously. “Yes, the King of the Greek Gods, Lord Zeus, well, his lightning bolt disappeared and he thinks Percy is the Lightning Thief.” Annabeth, Grover and Percy looked at the god, but the only noise heard was a small growl from Percy’s stomach. Loki’s face was blank until he cleaned his pants of sand and beckoned the kids to follow him. The three looked at each other, wondering if he was angry at the revelations. They followed him out of the beach and into a less crowded area, near some buildings where he motioned them to stop.

“Wait here, I will be back shortly.” They watched as he left before turning to Percy, looking like integrators.

“Percy! Is he really you’re dad?!” Grover lowered his voice when a couple walked by.

“Where did you find him?!” Percy opened his mouth, closed it and scratched his head.

“Well…he found me. In the Arch. When I was fighting the Chimera.” Percy told his friends everything, from the healing to the conversation in the alley. Grover was in shock, but he was glad that Percy was still a demigod. Annabeth, on the other hand, was curious.

“I’m surprised he knows about the Greek gods.” Percy nodded and confirmed her surprised with what Loki had told him. Just as he finished, a dark SUV pulled up. The window slid down to reveal Loki with sunglasses perched on his nose.

“This is how you’ll be completing your quest.”

“We get to drive a car? Sweet!” Grover cheered, but Loki shook his head, amused.

“Get it, and tell me where you must go.”

“Los Angeles, that’s where we’ll find Hades.” Annabeth climbed into the car. Grover went in right after and Percy sat right behind his bad.

“Did you hire him?” He asked the god, wondering how he could have gotten the money. Loki grinned at Percy through the side mirror.

“I _persuaded_ him, but he will be richly rewarded. Now, before your quest, you must feed yourselves. Daniel, take us to the first place with food, then take us to Los Angeles.” Loki ordered and settles into his seat. Percy, Annabeth and Grover all relaxed the seats as the car took off and pulled in to a nearby Burger King.

“Hope this quest goes as smooth as possible.” Percy said to Annabeth. Behind them, Loki began to weave a complex spell that took the appearance of a blanket, but would dissolve. He ignored the thunder that crackled ominously, noting its difference from Thor’s.

“Order anything you three want, whatever you want.” Loki said and he draped the spell over them, watching it disappear.


	4. A god tries to buy us cheeseburgers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy gets a mission from Ares, but will daddy/mommy Loki like it?

The driver, who name somehow escaped everyone but Loki, told them how long the trip would take. Loki then, after over five hours in the car, ordered him to pull over near any respectable hotel in Salina. Once the car stopped, three hungry and tired kids stumbled out, plus a weary Loki and half-asleep driver dragged themselves to the receptionist desk. The green-eyed god literally threw a wad of cash at the receptionist and they were escorted to rooms somewhere high up. Each got their own room. Their _own_ room, plus any food they wanted. That woke up Percy, Annabeth and Grover, who all gathered in one room to just stuff themselves. Grover almost ate the plate, until Percy had to restrain and remind him why he couldn’t. After the stuffing, Loki teleported in to remind them to get some sleep.

They woke up morning-ish, checked out and spent another seven hours on the road until Loki, who had been dozing off, woke up with a gasp.

“Next city.” He said, coughing into his hand. Percy searched around in the car until Annabeth handed over a water bottle, who gave it to a grateful Loki. The driver then was instructed to stop in Denver, as Loki said he needed to conduct business with “One of my other descendants.”

“Don’t wander off, I have many enemies.” Percy glanced at Loki with panicked eyes, who just waved him off as he got out of the car. He grinned and disappeared.

\---

“And so they approach him,” the old lady on the right spoke. The other two nodded, perhaps with a slight smirk on their faces.

“Yes, yes, we just fix everything.” They said in unison and they began to unravel a sock that was shaped like ‘P’. Or it maybe was an ‘L…’

\---

“I’ll stop at a gas station; you kids could use some leg-stretching.” The driver said as he started up the car again. In a few minutes they pulled up to an empty station. Percy quickly got out, stumbling as his legs ached from being cramped up. Annabeth was in better shaped, but Grover barreled right into him.

"Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth said as Grover got off of Percy. "I want to tell him that we’re safe.”

“Should we tell him about da—Loki?” Percy said, fumbling with the words. Grover and Annabeth shared a look, and then the girl shrugged.

“I don’t think so,” Grover started, his hands twitching nervously. “He probably won’t be able to find us. Besides, Lord Loki isn’t a Greek God.” Annabeth nodded in agreement, so Percy just went along.

"What exactly are we doing?" Percy asked, staring as Grover took out the spray gun.

"It's seventy-five cents," he grumbled. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"

"Nothing," she said. "But I got some bills. We can exchange them for quarters." Grover nodded and took a five and decided to walk into the store instead of the nearby diner. A few minutes passed until he got back, trying not to drop the small mound of coins in his hands. He held them out to Annabeth, who counted out the a few and pocketed the rest.

“Excellent,” Grover said. “We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn’t as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping.”

“What are you talking about?”

Grover fed the machine the quarters and set the knob to ‘FINE MIST’.

“IM-ing.”

“Instant messaging?” Percy asked, but Grover shook his head.

“Iris-messaging,” Annabeth corrected. “The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she’s not too busy, she’ll do the same for half-bloods.”

“You summon the goddess with a spray gun?”

Grover pointed the nozzle in the air and water hissed out in a thick white mist. “Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow.”

Sure enough, the light filtered through the vapor and broke into colors.

Annabeth glanced at Percy.

“Do you have a drachma?” He nodded and pulled the one in his pocket out and handed it over. She raised the coin over her head, saying:

“O goddess, accept our offering.” She then threw the drachma into the rainbow, and they watched it disappear into a golden shimmer.

“Half-Blood Hill.” She then said, and, at first, nothing happened. Then, appearing in the mist were familiar strawberry fields, and the Long Island Sound in the distance. It seemed to Percy, Annabeth and Grover that they were standing on the porch of the Big House. And there, standing intently at the meadow and holding a bronze sword, was Luke, or more accurately, his back.

“Luke!” Percy called out, watching the elder demigod turn with wide eyes.  The mist made it seem that they were standing right in front of him, although they could only see part of Luke.

“Percy!” A grin stretched over his face. “Is that Annabeth, too? Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?”

“We’re … uh … fine,” Annabeth stammered. She was trying to straighten her dirty T-shirt, threading her fingers through the loose hair in an attempt to comb it. “We thought-Chiron-I mean-“

“He’s down at the cabins.” Luke’s smile faded. “We’re having some issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover all right?”

“I’m right here,” Grover called. He held the nozzle out to one side and stepped into Luke’s line of vision. “What kind of issues?”

Just then a big Lincoln Continental pulled into the car wash with its stereo turned to maximum hip-hop. As the car slid into the next stall, the bass from the subwoofers vibrated so much, it shook the pavement.

“Chiron had to-what’s that noise?” Luke yelled.

“I’ll take care of it.’” Annabeth yelled back, a relieved expression crossing her face. “Grover, come on!

“What?” Grover said. “But-“

“Give Percy the nozzle and come on!” she snapped.

Grover muttered something about girls being harder to understand than the Oracle of Delphi, then he handed the boy the spray gun and followed Annabeth.

Percy readjusted the hose so he could keep the rainbow going and still see Luke.

“Chiron had to break up a fight,” Luke shouted to him over the music. “Things are pretty tense here, Percy. Word leaked out about the Zeus-Poseidon standoff. We’re still not sure how-probably the same scumbag who summoned the hellhound. Now the campers are starting to take sides. It’s shaping up like the Trojan War all over again. Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo are backing Poseidon, more or less. Athena is backing Zeus.”

Percy shuddered to think that Clarisse’s cabin would ever be on his dad’s side for anything. But then Percy thoughts were shot down by the thought of Loki, the one who was here, claiming to be his real father. He swallowed nervously, hearing the music’s volume decrease drastically.

“So what’s your status?” Luke asked me. “Chiron will be sorry he missed you.” Percy’s eyes widen a bit, and he slowly began telling him everything until the Chimera. He hesitated, and then told his the watered-down, Loki-was-definitely-not-here version. Luke didn’t seem to notice that Percy stumbled over certain parts. The young demigod talked for a bit, finally relaxing and feeling like he was back at camp until suddenly the beeper went off on the spray machine, and realized he only had one more minute before the water shut off.

“I wish I could be there,” Luke told Percy wistfully. “We can’t help much from here, I’m afraid, but listen … it had to be Hades who took the master bolt. He was there at Olympus at the winter solstice. I was chaperoning a field trip and we saw him.”

“But Chiron said the gods can’t take each other’s magic items directly.”

“That’s true,” Luke said, looking troubled. “Still … Hades has the helm of darkness. How could anybody else sneak into the throne room and steal the master bolt? You’d have to be invisible.”

Both went silent, until Luke seemed to realize what he’d said.

“Oh, hey,” he protested. “I didn’t mean Annabeth. She and I have known each other forever. She would never … I mean, she’s like a little sister to me.”

He wondered if Annabeth would like that description. In the stall next to us, the music stopped completely. A man screamed in terror, car doors slammed, and the Lincoln peeled out of the car wash.

“You’d better go see what that was,” Luke said. “Listen, are you wearing the flying shoes? I’ll feel better if I know they’ve done you some good.”

“Oh … uh, yeah!” Percy tried not to sound like a guilty liar. “Yeah, they’ve come in handy.”

“Really?” He grinned. “They fit and everything?”

The water shut off, the mist starting to evaporate.

“Well, take care of yourself out there in Denver,” Luke called, his voice getting fainter. “And tell Grover it’ll be better this time! Nobody will get turned into a pine tree if he just-“

But the mist was gone, and Luke’s image faded to nothing.

Annabeth and Grover came around the corner, laughing, but stopped when they saw the expression on Percy’s face. Annabeth’s smile faded. “What happened, Percy? What did Luke say?”

“Not much,” Percy said, trying to sound nonchalant about the conversation. His stomach then began to growl, and he looked at them, saying:

“We should probably get dinner.” Annabeth nodded and was about to say something when their driver pulled up.

“Mister Loki said he was running quite late, so he’d like you to have this.” The driver slipped his hand into an unseen pocket and pulled out a small wad of cash, which he handed to Percy.

“It seems like Mister Loki wishes to spend the night here, so I will find accommodations and then take you to any place you’ll want to dine at.”

“We could just eat here while you go find what Lord Loki wants.” Grover piped up, pointing at the diner. The driver agreed and told the trio he’ll come back in an hour. They walked in and sat at a booth in a gleaming chrome diner. All around us, families were eating burgers and drinking malts and sodas.

A waitress came over. She raised her eyebrow skeptically. “Well?”

 “We, um, want to order dinner.” Percy said, a bit nervous.

“You kids have money to pay for it?” Percy was taken back a bit. They were wearing rumpled clothes that were a bit dusty, but it wasn’t in bad shape. He opened his mouth to say something not nice and smart when a rumble shook the whole building; a motorcycle the size of a baby elephant had pulled up to the curb.

All conversation in the diner stopped. The motorcycle’s headlight glared red. Its gas tank had flames painted on it, and a shotgun holster riveted to either side, complete with shotguns. The seat was leather-but leather that looked like … well, Caucasian human skin.

The guy on the bike would’ve made pro wrestlers crap themselves. He was dressed in a red muscle shirt and black jeans and a black leather duster, with a hunting knife strapped to his thigh. He wore red wraparound shades, and he had the cruelest, most brutal face anyone has ever seen- handsome, perhaps, but cruel—with an oily black crew cut and cheeks that were scarred from many, many fights. Percy got a weird sensation, as if he had seen this man before.

As he walked into the diner, a hot, dry wind blew through the place. All the people rose, as if they were hypnotized, but the biker waved his hand dismissively and they all sat down again. Everybody went back to their conversations. The waitress blinked, and asked them again, “You kids have money to pay for it?”

“Of cou—” Percy started to say but the biker interrupted.

 “It’s on me.” He slid into their booth, crowding Annabeth against the window. She paled a bit.

He looked up at the waitress, who was gaping at him, and said, “Are you still here?”

He pointed at her, and she stiffened. She turned as if she’d been spun around, then marched back toward the kitchen.

The biker looked at Percy, whose face began to contort with anger. He had bad feelings starting to boil in his stomach. Anger, resentment, bitterness—he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

He gave the demigod a wicked grin. “So you’re old Seaweed’s kid, huh?”

“What’s it to you?” Percy snapped, feeling like he was talking to Gabe.

Annabeth’s eyes flashed him a warning. “Percy, this is-“

The biker raised his hand.

“S’okay,” he said. “I don’t mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who’s the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?”

Percy was taken aback; he knew why he felt such _hatred_ towards this man. He had the same vicious sneer as some of the kids at Camp Half-Blood, the ones from cabin five.

“You’re Clarisse’s dad,” Percy’s lips tightened slightly. “Ares, god of war.”

Ares grinned and took off his shades. Where his eyes should’ve been, there was only fire, empty sockets glowing with miniature nuclear explosions. “That’s right, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse’s spear.”

“She was asking for it.” The dark haired boy nearly growled out loud. Ares just smirked and shrugged.  
“Probably. That’s cool. I don’t fight my kids’ fights, you know? What I’m here for-I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you.”

The waitress came back with heaping trays of food-cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, and chocolate shakes. The god handed her a few gold drachmas. She looked nervously at the coins.

“But, these aren’t…”

Ares pulled out his huge knife and started cleaning his fingernails. “Problem, sweetheart?”

The waitress swallowed, then left with the gold.

“You can’t do that,” Percy snapped, glaring at Ares. “You can’t just threaten people with a knife.”

Ares laughed. “Are you kidding? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. Don’t you carry a weapon, punk? You should. Dangerous world out there. Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor.”

“What favor could I do for a god?”

“Something a god doesn’t have time to do himself. It’s nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little … date with my girlfriend. We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me.”

“Why don’t you go back and get it yourself?”

The fire in his eye sockets glowed a little hotter.

“Why don’t I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don’t feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?” He leaned forward. “Or maybe you only fight when there’s a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you.”

The words slapped Percy hard and he almost reached out and punched the god but one word stopped his blood cold. _Daddy_. That was right, Ares didn’t know, none of the Greek gods knew…

“We’re not interested,” Percy tried to control his nervousness. “We’ve already got a quest.”

Ares’s fiery eyes made him see—blood and smoke and corpses on the battlefield.

“I know all about your quest, punk. When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. If I couldn’t sniff out a weapon that powerful …” He licked his lips, as if the very thought of the master bolt made him hungry. “Well … if I couldn’t find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I’m the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath.”

“You told him Hades stole the bolt?”

“Sure. Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest.”

“Thanks,” Percy grumbled, his eye twitching.

“Hey, I’m a generous guy. Just do my little job, and I’ll help you on your way. I’ll arrange a ride west for you and your friends.”

“We’re doing fine on our own.” The boy said, and stopped himself, before he could say Loki’s name out loud. At that, Ares face became a bit more serious, or was it anger? He stared at Percy hard, trying to gauge his reaction

“Yeah, interesting that I can’t seem to track you…but I’m pretty sure you all have no money, no ride. No clue what you’re up against, right? Help me out, and maybe I’ll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom.”

“My mom?!”

He grinned. “That got your attention. The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can’t miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride.”

“What interrupted your date?” he asked. “Something scare you off?”

Ares bared his teeth, but it wasn’t as frightening, it was almost like he was nervous.

“You’re lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They’re not as forgiving of rudeness as I am. I’ll meet you back here when you’re done. Don’t disappoint me.” Ares stood and a pale hand laid itself on his arm.

“Who are you to command this child?” Just as when Ares entered, everyone in the room began to stand. But instead of just standing, these people dropped to their knees and cowered. Percy slowly looked up to see a furious Loki.

“Who the hell are you?!” Ares snapped, pulling out his hunting knife which morphed into a sword. Loki sneered and snapped his hand in the air; the people in the diner got off their knees and sat down immediately, but trembling.

“Leave, you dog of violence. Get out and never come near these children again.” Ares mouth twisted into a snarl and he pointed the blade at the pale god.

“This ain’t none of your business—if this kid wants to find his mama he’ll do as I say.” Then he was gone, and Loki faced Percy, his face stern.

“Perseu—”

“But my mother!” But Loki shook his head and turned his hand and they were in a hotel, and Loki was ushering him to a bed.

“But—”

“Sleep.” The god said firmly, and Percy was overwhelmed by a tiredness.


	5. Chapter 5: Daddy’s little hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tunnel of love still can't catch anyone.

“…Percy!” The boy woke up with a gasp and bit back a yelp as he noticed Grover and Annabeth hovering over him. He glanced down at his hands that were clenching the sheets tightly then sighed and slowly let go.

“Wh-what happened?” Percy finally asked.

“I think Lord Loki hit us all with a sleeping spell but it wasn’t so strong, I guess.” Annabeth said quietly. Grover nodded, stifling a yawn and glancing warily at the door. It seemed like Loki was quite tired and didn’t hear them move into Percy’s room.

Grover then turned to the boy he was supposed to protect and gave him a forlorn look.

“What?” Percy hissed, a bit annoyed since Annabeth was giving a pitying look.

“Not good,” Grover said. “Ares sought you out, Percy. This is not good.”

Percy stared out the window, his hands clenching the sheets tightly.

‘Did Ares really know something about my mom, or was he just playing with me?’ Percy blinked rapidly, and pressed his lips together—hard. Now that he was gone, all the anger had drained out of him. Percy then realized Ares must love to mess with people’s emotions. That was his power—cranking up the passions so badly, they clouded your ability to think.

“It’s probably some kind of trick,” he finally said. “Forget Ares. Let’s just go back to sleep.”

“We can’t,” Annabeth said. “Look, I hate Ares as much as anybody, but you don’t ignore the gods unless you want serious bad fortune. He wasn’t kidding about turning you into a rodent.”

Percy looked down at the sheets, which suddenly didn’t seem so warm and comforting. “Why does he need us?”

“Maybe it’s a problem that requires brains,” Annabeth said. “Ares has strength. That’s all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes.”

“But this water park … he acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that?”

Annabeth and Grover glanced nervously at each other.

Annabeth said, “I’m afraid we’ll have to find out.”

Getting out was something Percy never wanted to do again. The suite they were in had four rooms, he realized, and he was supposed to be sharing a room with Grover. But dad, angry at Ares, put him where Annabeth was going to be. Luckily, Annabeth’s room was right next to the door that led to the hallway.

“Quietly, _quietly_!” Annabeth hissed, glancing back and forth between Loki’s and the driver’s room.  She found one of the keys under the sofa and she was trying to open the door without much noise.

“Hurry Annabeth, someone’s waking up!” She turned and the door opened without much noise. They tiptoed out, trying to no get much light in and closed the door slowly.

“Okay, where to now?” Percy said as they walked down the hotel’s stairs. They managed to get out without anyone staring at them suspiciously.

The sun had set behind the mountains, so by the time they found the water park it was quite dark. Judging from the sign, it once had been called ‘WATERLAND’, but now some of the letters were smashed out, so it read ‘WAT R A D’.

The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, huge dry waterslides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading to empty pools. Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around the asphalt. With night coming on, the place looked sad and creepy.

“If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date,” Percy said, staring up at the barbed wire, “I’d hate to see what she looks like.”

“Percy,” Annabeth warned. “Be more respectful.”

“Why? I thought you hated Ares.” Annabeth gave him a look that said ‘Hey, watch out idiot.’

“He’s still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental.”

“You don’t want to insult her looks,” Grover added.

“Who is she? Echidna?”

“No, Aphrodite,” Grover said, a little dreamily. “Goddess of love.”

“I thought she was married to somebody,” Percy said, confused. “Hephaestus.”

“What’s your point?” he asked.

“Oh.” Percy flushed and felt the need to change the subject. “So how do we get in?”

“Maia!” Grover’s shoes sprouted wings.

He flew over the fence, did an unintended somersault in midair, then stumbled to a landing on the opposite side. He dusted off his jeans, as if he’d planned the whole thing. “You guys coming?”

Annabeth and Percy had to climb the old-fashioned way, holding down the barbed wire for each other as both crawled over the top.

The shadows grew long as they walked through the park, checking out the attractions. There was Ankle Biter Island, Head Over Wedgie, and Dude, Where’s My Swimsuit?

No monsters came to get them—nothing made the slightest noise.

They found a souvenir shop that had been left open. Merchandise still lined the shelves: snow globes, pencils, postcards, and racks of clothes.

They continued searching for the Tunnel of Love. He got the feeling that the whole park was holding its breath.

“So Ares and Aphrodite, they have a thing going?”

“That’s old gossip, Percy,” Annabeth told him. “Three-thousand-year-old gossip.”

“What about Aphrodite’s husband?”

“Well, you know,” she said. “Hephaestus. The blacksmith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Zeus. So he isn’t exactly handsome. Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn’t into brains and talent, you know?”

“She likes bikers.”

“Whatever.”

“Hephaestus knows?”

“Oh sure,” Annabeth said. “He caught them together once. I mean, literally caught them, in a golden net, and invited all the gods to come and laugh at them. Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass them. That’s why they meet in out-of-the-way places, like …”

She stopped, looking straight ahead. “Like that.”

In front of them was an empty pool that would’ve been awesome for skateboarding. It was at least fifty yards across and shaped like a bowl.

Around the rim, a dozen bronze statues of Cupid stood guard with wings spread and bows ready to fire. On the opposite side from us, a tunnel opened up, probably where the water flowed into when the pool was full. The sign above it read, THRILL RIDE O’ LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS’ TUNNEL OF LOVE!

Grover crept toward the edge. “Guys, look.”

Marooned at the bottom of the pool was a pink-and-white two-seater boat with a canopy over the top and little hearts painted all over it. In the left seat, glinting in the fading light was Ares’s shield, a polished circle of bronze.

“This is too easy,” Percy frowned, folding his arms. “So we just walk down there and get it?”

Annabeth ran her fingers along the base of the nearest Cupid statue.

“There’s a Greek letter carved here,” she said. “Eta. I wonder …”

“Grover,” the boy called out to the satyr, “you smell any monsters?”

He sniffed the wind. “Nothing.”

“Nothing, like, in-the-Arch-and-you-didn’t-smell-Echidna nothing, or really nothing?”

Grover looked hurt. “I told you, that was underground.”

“Okay, I’m sorry.” The demigod took a deep breath. “I’m going down there.”

“I’ll go with you.” Grover didn’t sound too enthusiastic, but Percy got the feeling he was trying to make up for what had happened in St. Louis.

“No, I want you to stay up top with the flying shoes. You’re the Red Baron, a flying ace, remember? I’ll be counting on you for backup, in case something goes wrong.” Percy said, reaching over to clap Grover on his shoulder.

Grover puffed up his chest a little. “Sure. But what could go wrong?”

“I don’t know. Just a feeling. Annabeth, come with me-“

“Are you kidding?” She looked at him as if he just dropped from the moon. Her cheeks were bright red.

“What’s the problem now?” Percy demanded, shifting from one foot to another. He wanted this stupid thing to be over with so he could go back to the hotel and sleep. Oh, and before dad noticed anything.

“Me, go with you to the … the ‘Thrill Ride of Love’? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?”

“Who’s going to see you?” But Percy’s face was burning now, too. What would dad say? Or mom? Or anyone, really? “Fine,” he told her. “I’ll do it myself.” But when he started down the side of the pool, she followed him, muttering about how boys always messed things up.

They reached the boat, noticing that the shield was propped on one seat, and next to it was a lady’s silk scarf. Percy tried to imagine Ares and Aphrodite here, a couple of gods meeting in a junked-out amusement-park ride. Why? Then he noticed something that couldn’t be seen from up top: mirrors all the way around the rim of the pool, facing this spot. Both could see themselves no matter which direction we looked. That must be it. While Ares and Aphrodite were smooching with each other they could look at their favorite people: themselves.

The demigod boy picked up the scarf. It shimmered pink, and the perfume was indescribable-rose, or mountain laurel. Something good. He smiled, a little dreamy, and was about to rub the scarf against his cheek when Annabeth ripped it out of Percy’s hand and stuffed it in her pocket. “Oh, no you don’t. Stay away from that love magic.”

“What?”

“Just get the shield, Seaweed Brain, and let’s get out of here.”

The moment Percy touched the shield, he knew they were in trouble. His hand broke through something that had been connecting it to the dashboard. ‘A cobweb’, he thought, but then looked at a strand of it on his palm and saw it was some kind of metal filament, so fine it was almost invisible. A trip wire.

“Wait,” Annabeth said.

“Too late.”

“There’s another Greek letter on the side of the boat, another Eta. This is a trap.” Annabeth and Percy’s eyes met. They were both wide with anticipation.

Noise erupted all around them, of a million gears grinding, as if the whole pool were turning into one giant machine.

Grover yelled, “Guys!”

Up on the rim, the Cupid statues were drawing their bows into firing position. Before Percy could suggest taking cover, they shot, but not at the demigods. They fired at each other, across the rim of the pool. Silky cables trailed from the arrows, arcing over the pool and anchoring where they landed to form a huge golden asterisk. Then smaller metallic threads started weaving together magically between the main strands, making a net.

“We have to get out,” Percy said, trying to stand up.

“Duh!” Annabeth said.

He grabbed the shield and both ran, but going up the slope of the pool was not as easy as going down.

“Come on!” Grover shouted.

He was trying to hold open a section of the net for them, but wherever he touched it, the golden threads started to wrap around his hands.

The Cupids’ heads popped open. Out came video cameras. Spotlights rose up all around the pool, blinding us with illumination, and a loudspeaker voice boomed: “Live to Olympus in one minute … Fifty-nine seconds, fifty-eight …”

“Hephaestus!” Annabeth screamed. “I’m so stupid.’ Eta is H.’ He made this trap to catch his wife with Ares. Now we’re going to be broadcast live to Olympus and look like absolute fools!”

They almost made it to the rim when the row of mirrors opened like hatches and thousands of tiny metallic … things poured out.

Annabeth screamed.

It was an army of wind-up creepy-crawlies: bronze-gear bodies, spindly legs, little pincer mouths—all scuttling toward us in a wave of clacking, whirring metal.

“Spiders!” Annabeth said. “Sp-sp-aaaah!”

Percy stared at the blond girl for a moment, having never seen her like this before. She fell backward in terror and almost got overwhelmed by the spider robots before he pulled her up and dragged her back toward the boat.

The things were coming out from all around the rim now, millions of them, flooding toward the center of the pool, completely surrounding us. Percy told himself they probably weren’t programmed to kill, just to corral and bite them and make them look stupid. Then again, this was a trap meant for gods. And they weren’t gods.

Percy and Annabeth climbed into the boat. He started kicking away the spiders as they swarmed aboard. He tried yelling at Annabeth to help him, but she was too paralyzed to do much more than scream.

“Thirty, twenty-nine,” called the loudspeaker.

The spiders started spitting out strands of metal thread, trying to tie us down. The strands were easy enough to break at first, but there were so many of them, and the spiders just kept coming. Percy kicked one away from Annabeth’s leg and its pincers took a chunk out of my new surf shoe.

Grover hovered above the pool in his flying sneakers, trying to pull the net loose, but it wouldn’t budge.

Percy kicked a spider away and shuddered, tying to take a deep breath. ‘Think’, he told himself, ‘think.’

The Tunnel of Love entrance was under the net. They _could_ use it as an exit, except that it was blocked by a million robot spiders.

“Fifteen, fourteen,” the loudspeaker called.

‘Water’, he thought, slapping away another spider, ‘Where does the ride’s water come from?’

Then he saw huge water pipes behind the mirrors, where the spiders had come from. And up above the net, next to one of the Cupids, a glass-windowed booth that must be the controller’s station.

“Grover!” Percy yelled. “Get into that booth! Find the ‘on’ switch!”

“But-“

“Do it!” It was a crazy hope, but it was their only chance. The spiders were all over the prow of the boat now. Annabeth was screaming her head off. He had to get them all out of there.

Grover was in the controller’s booth now, slamming away at the buttons.

“Five, four-“

Grover looked up at Percy hopelessly, raising his hands. He was letting him know that he’d pushed every button, but still nothing was happening.

Percy closed his eyes and thought about waves, rushing water, the Mississippi River. He gasped, feeling a familiar tug in his gut. He tried to imagine that he was dragging the ocean all the way to Denver.

“Two, one, zero!”

Water exploded out of the pipes. It roared into the pool, sweeping away the spiders. Percy pulled Annabeth into the seat next to him and fastened her seat belt just as the tidal wave slammed into their boat, over the top, whisking the spiders away and dousing us completely, but not capsizing them. The boat turned, lifted in the flood, and spun in circles around the whirlpool.

The boat then stopped spinning and Percy slammed into Annabeth, from all of the momentum. The boat was there in the whirlpool again, except it had no passengers.

“Well.” The voice was too familiar. Percy let up and stared at his father in horror. Annabeth muffled a gasp and stood behind him. Grover did not make any sound from the control booth.

Loki looked terrifying, despite the fact that he looked _tired_ and was wearing some weird looking green shirt. He also was worried, as he reached out and yanked Percy to him. Percy closed his eyes, but felt a hand running through his hair, pressing down on cheeks and shoulders.

“What-were-you- _thinking_!” Loki gritted out after he had murmured some sort of spell to warm him and Annabeth. He whipped his head towards the booth and stuck out a long, pale finger. He crooked it slowly, which made it much more terrifying.

“ _Come_.” He snarled. Grover squeaked and stumbled down towards them.

Loki stared at all three of them, his eyes blazing with a green flame. He took his time studying each one of them, before he sighed and turned away.

“I told you…I said…why did you _not_ heed—” Percy shuffled awkwardly as his father murmured to himself. Annabeth shoved at him, and when she got his attention, she motioned towards Loki.

“Go talk to him!” she hissed and pushed him towards a pacing Loki.

“Dad?”

“Why do you do this?” Percy sighed and tugged on his dad’s weird shirt. He pulled him away from Annabeth and Grover before turning to face him.

“Dad, you know what I am.” One of Loki’s eyebrows twitched.

“A half-godling, a—”

“A demigod. A Greek one because I don’t think I can go where you live.” Percy watched Loki until he gave a slow affirmative.

“So dad, please, I have to do this, I have to be a hero, if not, they’ll get suspicious.” Loki placed a pale hand on Percy’s shoulder and sighed, rolling his eyes.

“I get the point, child, do you see this?” He said as he pulled out a phone. He pressed the power button and showed Percy the screen.

“It is about two hours before the day ends—Until midnight. Go talk to that _cretin_ and do what you need to do. If you are _not_ back in two hours,” here, Loki raised his voice so Annabeth and Grover could hear him. He smirked and motioned them to approach.

“Be back in two hours or I will expose myself to Ares _again_.” Loki’s form shimmered before disappearing. Grover sighed.

“You know, part of being a hero is having no curfew.” Percy gave him a sheepish grin.

“Sorry, wasn’t expecting a parent.”

“You mean a mom.”

“Loki can’t be my mom!”


	6. Chapter 6: Gods are on the prowl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some suspicion required.

The Olympians and other gods had gathered eagerly to see if Ares and Aphrodite were once again, caught by Hephaestus, although there was word going around that Ares got some poor kid to get his whatever-he-lost.

_“The son of Lord Poseidon, that’s what I heard!”_ Those were the whisperings that were going around, although they tried to avoid repeating them in front of the King of Gods. Frankly, the residents of Mount Olympus were glad that there was this to ease the tension between Lord Zeus and Lord Poseidon. The anger and promise of war was choking and flustering everyone.

“Is that—!”

“He looks just like Lord Poseidon!”

“Is that Lady Athena’s daughter?”

“I wonder what they’ll—” Suddenly it got caught off and the screen flashed a vibrant green. No sound came out and everyone stared, murmuring before Hephaestus swore and hobbled over to the controls. But then an image came back, it was of the ruined water park. No one knew what to say.

**\---**

“So you’re telling me you don’t know what the hell happened to the St. Louis Arch?” A figure stood in front of a circular table, his hands clasped firmly behind his back. Too firmly, Phil Coulson noted, as he contained a sigh and handed a folder to the woman on his right.

“Sir, according to these files, there were some witness accounts, however, they were dismissed seeing as they sustained some burns and other wounds.” The woman, Maria Hill, spoke as she riffled through the papers, trying to find something sustainable.

“Did any of our agents find anything?”

“No sir,” Coulson spoke up again, looking at a phone and swiping at it to check for new information. “They arrived a few hours ago, but they’ll be able to pick something out.”

“Hopefully soon.” Nick Fury turned around and took the folder Hill offered him. “’Cause the council’s hounding for answers and I ain’t got nothing that makes _sense_.”

\---

Ares, the god of war was waiting for them in the diner parking lot.

“Well, well, well…” he said, looking at their wet hair mockingly. “You didn’t get yourself killed.”

“You knew it was a trap,” Percy gritted out, his fists clenching.

Ares gave me a wicked grin. “Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. Shame we couldn’t see all of you on TV.” Ares looked like he wanted to say something about that, but he blinked and gave the kids a full-blown smirk.

Percy dug his nails into in hand and held back a nasty word. He shoved the god’s shield at him. “You’re a jerk.”

Annabeth and Grover caught their breath.

Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.

“See that truck over there?” He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. “That’s your ride. Takes you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas.”

The vehicle had a sign on the back, printed white on black. It said, ‘KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.’ Percy, Annabeth and Grover looked horrified.

“You’re kidding me,” Percy began to say, before Annabeth clapped her hand over his mouth and looked at the war god nervously.

“Thank you, Lord Ares.” She moved her hand to Percy’s arm and made the other one tug at Grover.

“Blah-ha-ha! Yes, Lord Ares, we’ll be going now!”

“Hold up, wait you punks.” Ares crossed his arms and suddenly there was an uncomfortable tension. Despite the fact that he had shades covering his eyes, the three of them could _see_ fire. And there was something more, something sinister that couldn’t be from Ares, no matter how bloodthirsty he was.

“Now I know for sure those traps the crippled set up should have been able to make you stay in sight of the cameras. What did you brats do? There is no way you could have gotten out so quick…” Ares started walking towards the trio, his free hand reaching to grab at Percy. They all froze, not knowing whether to try and walk away or make up a lie.

A familiar pale hand slapped down on the muscled arm. It dug its nail in the skin for a moment before lifting the arm and throwing it into a building.

But there was no crash. In an instant, Ares had his gun—no, not a gun anymore but the wicked-looking sword and with a snarl, lunged at Loki.

“Who the hell are you?! This is the f—” A spear materialized in Loki’s left hand and he let out a throaty growl before swinging it at Ares’ head. The war god moved to block it, and slashed when the other god appeared behind him, in an attempt to gut him with a dagger.

“You’re no mortal.” Ares said, with a grin that made Grover tremble. Percy and Annabeth were still frozen, unable to do the smart thing and back away from the godly fight. But thankfully, Loki was prepared for everything.

“Children! You obviously have no preservation skills, move!” They blinked at the shimmering form of Loki, not realizing it was a clone.

“The driver is waiting down the street, hurry!” He snapped at them, and they eventually managed to tear their eyes from the rather exciting fight before scrambling down the road.

“Do you, do you think Lord Loki will be alright?” Grover bleated out as they rushed towards the black car. The driver nodded at them, looking grim as he unlocked the car. They scrambled in, and yanked the door shut. The driver looked at them briefly through his rearview mirror before nodding, as if making sure they’re all there, and turning on the car. He pulled the car out of the street quickly and did a clean u-turn, before slamming him foot on the pedal.

“What about dad?” Percy asked, finally catching his breath and quenching his dry throat. The driver gave him a reassuring smile.

“Lord Loki said that after the ‘deals with the idiot’ he’ll teleport himself to us. He is attuned to where you are, Master Jackson, and this car.” Annabeth nodded, understanding what the driver meant.

“Where are we headed?” She asked, passing the bottle to Grover.

“Los Angeles.” Loki’s tired voice rang through the car, shocking everyone but the driver.

“Dad!” “Lord Loki!” were the simultaneous cries.

“Dad, are you alright?” Percy was worried. Yeah, his maybe-definitely-not-mom/dad was a god, but Ares looked pretty crazy, not to mention bloodthirsty. Probably a trait of all war gods. His dad, while a fighter, was probably the god of smart people or something that required brainpower.

“Yes. While he was a tough opponent, I was able to trick him and get away, not before letting loose the animals in that pathetic carriage he offered you three.” Loki sniffed haughtily, nodding at his driver.

“Also, I have news, Percy. About your mother.” Percy’s head shot up. His eyes searched at Loki’s similarly colored ones.

“Ares told you?” His voice sounded small. Loki nodded, and gave him a kind smile.

“Yes, but it is good news. Your mother is alive, my son.”

All the guilt, all of the worrying that he had done now floated away, disappeared like magic.

“But where is Ms. Jackson, Lord Loki?” Grover piped up. He was hopeful too, as he was Percy protector, and was in a way, Sally Jackson’s.

“Apparently, she is being held as hostage in your Underworld.”

“By Lord Hades.” Annabeth’s mouth was wide open. Percy frowned.

“But why?!” Loki pursed him lips.

“I cannot say. The war god didn’t say much. However, we should reach the city quickly, although we’ll have to make some visits in Las Vegas.” Percy’s eyebrows quirked.

“More of my brothers?” Loki grinned, the mischievous expression made him look years younger.

“It is the perfect place for a child of mine. Things you three are still young to hear.” While Percy was confused, Grover buried his face in his hands while Annabeth gaped, her face flushing in embarrassment before quickly disappearing.

\---

Thor snapped out of a daze as something tickled his mind. It was the feeling he would get when Loki pulled out his daggers. But Loki was dead and he couldn’t figure out why he would be reminded of his favorite weapons.

“Nothing, no sign of him my prince.” Heimdall rumbled, looking at Thor’s crestfallen face.

“Many thanks Heimdall. I will take my leave.” He quickly left, yet as he stared at the broken Bifrost, he wondered why he suddenly remembered such weapons.


End file.
